The Suffolk County Police arrested a man last week who posed a threat of mass harm at the Jake’s 58 Casino Hotel, located in Islandia.
Joshua Hurt, of Wheatley Heights, commented on a travel website with his intentions. He wanted to bring a gun to the establishment and hurt the staff. The 28-year-old was arrested on charges of making a threat of mass harm, which falls under a class B misdemeanor.
The Fourth Precinct Crime Section and Anti-Crime Unit officers prevented any wrongdoing following their investigation of the July 30 comment.
Jake’s 58 Casino threatened by Wheatley Heights man
The employees at Jake’s 58 Casino are safe, despite a man’s potential plans of causing havoc.
Suffolk Police detained Hurt on Straight Path in Dix Hills. He spent the night at the precinct prior to his arraignment hearing at the First District Court in Central Islip.
Currently, Jake’s 58 features around 2,000 video lottery terminals (VLTs). New York recently passed a bill to basically double the number of active machines. That could change even more, however, as the state prepares to hand out three licenses to operate complete downstate NY casinos in the near future.
Speaking of: Could Jake’s 58 become full-fledged NY casino
While the Resorts World Casino in Queens appears set for one of these retail businesses, that leaves two spots for the taking. Once awarded, licenses for NY full-time casinos last for at least 10 years.
Unfortunately for those who visit Jake’s 58 often, it seems unlikely that the VLT provider will earn one. It came to somewhat of a compromise with Resorts World NYC in regards to expansion.
There is certainly additional competition within the Empire State, though. As of now, it looks like MGM Empire City in Yonkers is a favorite, along with the Resorts Queens location. It’s possible that the third slot is filled by New York Mets’ owner Steve Cohen and a Citi Field casino with Hard Rock.
